March 1, 2011

Quinoa with Adzuki Beans

I've been in kind of a kitchen rut lately. I've mostly been eating salad, with the occasional treat of Daiya nachos. (Remember, I bought 20 bags of Daiya at a dollar a bag several weeks ago? Yeah, maybe 20 bags was a little ambitious. Thank God it freezes!) So, the last time I went to the grocery store I felt drawn to some of the weirder offerings, particularly ones that didn't blow my budget. I decided on a bag of Garbanzo Bean Flour (weird, right?) and a bag of organic Japanese Adzuki Beans. I'd never heard of these beans, but the label on the bag touted "high fiber!" And those are the magic words for me. The Cancer Project recommends 40 grams of fiber per day to keep your engine running smoothly, so any way I can cram more fiber into my diet, I'm gonna.
I haven't tried the garbanzo bean flour yet, but I cooked up the adzuki beans a couple of days ago, mixed them with some quinoa and spices, sizzled up some veggie bacon for garnish, and the whole family has been eating on this one batch since then! My husband just had a big bowl for lunch. It's the high-protein dish that just keeps on giving. Try it out for yourself!

Start your beans the day before you actually want to make the dish. You will need to soak them overnight in three cups of water. The next day, drain and rinse the beans, add a fresh 3 cups of water, and set them to cook over medium-high heat. Once they're boiling reduce heat to low and cover.

For the quinoa, boil 2 cups of water. Add 1 cup of quinoa. Stir it around, cover and reduce heat. It only take about 20 minutes to cook. Once it's done, just shut off the heat and let it steam up while you finish your beans.

While beans and quinoa are simmering, saute onion and garlic in half a cup of water, adding more water if needed to keep them from sticking. When onions are translucent and garlic is soft add them to the beans, stir in well, and re-cover the pot.

Add all remaining ingredients, except bacon, and stir in well. Re-cover and allow beans to simmer at least an hour, until soft. You will have to do some taste-testing every now and again to see how they're coming along.

When everything is ready, add the quinoa to the bean pot (or vice versa, depending on which pot is bigger) and stir it all around. I like to sing a little 'stirring song' while I'm doing it.

Ladle beans into a bowl and top with bacon. It was also fantastic with nutritional yeast sprinkled on top! Green onions might be good too. Hmmmm...

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A LI'L BIT ABOUT ME

Howdy! My name is Jennifer. I am a bread n' buttered Southern girl - a Texas native, wife and mom, living in the heart of cowboy country. I don't own a camera, so my pictures are taken with my phone, which isn't really a phone because I don't have service, so it's just a tiny computer. The title of the blog isn't simply a clever moniker - I am chronically low on funds and I pay for most stuff with loose change. My recipes tend to be easy and inexpensive. I try to feed my hungry family of three the most wholesome meals I can create while keeping my budget in check. I hope I can help you save money too! Enjoy the recipes, y'all!